Legislative Alert! Who will control your political party?
Update: HB 4636 has been placed on the General State Calendar for May 11. These bills have the power to take away the voice of grassroots citizens. Please take the two steps under TAKE ACTION below to fight this oppressive legislation. Thank you!
May 1, 2023 | Austin, TX
It is so disappointing to see Republican legislators seeking to remove the power of our base and hand it over to others who don’t really care what our voters want.
HB 1635
One bill that seeks to dictate how political parties operate has passed the Texas House and has been assigned to the Senate State Affairs Committee. HB 1635 would place restrictions on how funds, raised by the local party, may be used. If the local party does not use the funds according to state mandates, the party must pay a penalty to the state.
Political parties in Texas are private organizations that are not subject to the rule of the opposition party. Don’t let RINOs in the Texas House get away with wresting control of your party from you.
The bill also gives the County Chair the authority to supervise the conduct of a Primary Election in each county, again gutting the power of Precinct Chairs and the county party’s Executive Committee.
HB 4636
Update: HB 4636 has been placed on the General State Calendar for May 11.
HB 4636 has passed the House Elections Committee. This bill grants overarching power to the County Chair. Precinct Chairs are the elected officials closest to the people. Why would we want to lose that control and hand it over to one person?
REPUBLICAN Representative Angela Orr of District 13 authored HB 4636. And the kicker - her husband is the Republican County Chairman of Hill County. Can you say, "conflict of interest?"
One can only imagine if Soros-backed money were channeled into counties to get hand-picked chairmen elected, as we have seen in DA offices across the country. Say goodbye to government by the people!
Components of HB 4636:
Destroys checks and balances of the local party. Creates a "top-down" model which gives the county chairman dictatorial powers.
Gives the county chairman the ability to bind the local party to contracts. These could extend far beyond the chairman's term. This could bankrupt the local party.
Gives the county chairman control of all party funds. Precinct chairs would have no control over how the money they raise is spent. This would be a real disincentive for the precinct chairs to fundraise.
Gives the county chairman sole authority to fill precinct chair vacancies. No County Executive Committee (CEC) participation required. No quorum required. No vote required. Hand-picked precinct chairs that support the chairman's views - how simple.
Gives the county chairman sole authority to call meetings and create meeting agendas. If the chairman does not want something on the agenda or doesn't want to call a requested meeting, he can simply refuse.
Take Action
These bills have the power to take away the voice of grassroots citizens. Please take the two steps below to fight this oppressive legislation. Thank you!
1) Contact your State Representative and urge him to oppose HB 4636 when it comes to a vote on May 11!
2) HB 1635 has moved to the Senate State Affairs Committee. Please contact the committee members and urge them to oppose this bill. Please also contact your State Senator and urge him or her to oppose this bill!
Senate State Affairs Committee Members
Chair – Bryan Hughes (512) 463-0101
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Vice Chair – Angela Paxton (512) 463-0108
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Sen. Paul Bettencourt (512) 463-0107
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Sen. Brian Birdwell (512) 463-0122
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Sen. Morgan LaMantia (512) 463-0127
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Sen. Jose Menendez (512) 463-0126
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Sen. Mayes Middleton (512) 463-0111
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Sen. Tan Parker (512) 463-0112
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Sen. Charles Perry (512) 463-0128
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Sen. Charles Schwertner (512) 463-0105
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Sen. Judith Zaffirini (512) 463-0121
Email
Senator Brandon Creighton (SD 4)
(512) 463-0104 (Austin Office)
(281) 292-4128 (District Office)
Send an email
Senator Lois Kolkhorst (SD 18)
(512) 463-0118 (Austin Office)
(979) 251-7888 (District Office)
Send an email
Senator Paul Bettencourt (SD 7)
(512) 463-0107 (Austin Office)
(713) 464-0282 (District Office)
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Rep. Cecil Bell (HD 3)
(512) 463-0650 (Austin office)
(281) 259-3700 (District office)
Send an email
Rep. Steve Toth (HD 15)
(512) 463-0797 (Austin office)
(346) 220-0300 (District office)
Send an email
Rep. Will Metcalf (HD 16)
(512) 463-0726 (Austin office)
(936) 539-0068 (District office)
Send an email
Rep. Ernest Bailes (HD 18)
(512) 463-0570 (Austin office)
(936) 628-6687 (District office)
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